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View SlideshowRequest to buy this photoADAM CAIRNS | DISPATCHThe removal of 500 slot machines will also open up valuable floor space and allow for an expansion of the casino’s o.h. bar, which is crowded on weekends.

Hollywood Casino Columbus will have 500 fewer slot machines and will see its poker tables increase by six to 36 in an effort to boost the gambling venue’s revenue.

The top executives of Penn National Gaming, the casino’s parent company, recently expressed concern about the numbers coming out of the new venue and hinted in an earnings call with analysts that changes were on the way.

“We’ve always talked about how when you first open, you basically make your best estimate of what games will be popular,” said Bob Tenenbaum, spokesman for Hollywood Columbus.

“We’ve been open four months now and are at the point at which we’ve been able to establish patterns and see what’s popular,” he said. “The poker room has been way more popular than we anticipated.”

While the poker room has been packed, slot play has been less than expected since the casino opened on Oct. 8. The decline in slot machines will take the total to about 2,500. Slot revenue at Hollywood Columbus was $10.8 million in December, down 12.8 percent from November.

The daily total generated for the “house” per machine fell to $115 for the 3,015 slots at Hollywood Casino in December from $137 the month before.

At the Scioto Downs “racino,” the total revenue was $9.9 million in December. However, the average daily revenue from its 2,117 slots was $151.

Timothy Wilmott, Penn National chief executive, said he “thought we’d be further ahead in slot volumes than we actually are,” during a Jan. 31 earnings call with Wall Street investors.

Slot machines are a major expense for casinos.

They cost $18,000 to $25,000 each, said Ameet Patel, vice president and general manager of the casino.

However, manufacturers will only lease many of the more-popular themed machines, such as “Sex and the City,” and in some cases receive a cut of the casino’s portion of the daily win.

The per-day lease fee for slot machines can be $50 to $100, Patel said.

Horseshoe Cleveland recently decreased its slots by about 230 to 1,854 and added 22 table games for a total of 117.

Even with the cuts, Hollywood Columbus still will have the largest number of slots in the state.

“Casinos do always make adjustments, so that aspect is perfectly normal (at Hollywood Columbus),” said David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

“However, poker is really not a big revenue producer for casinos.”

For example, the average daily revenue per poker table in Las Vegas is $414 “and you have higher employment costs than at the slots,” Schwartz said.

The casino’s take, or rake, for poker “is 10 percent or a $6 maximum,” said Tama Davis, spokeswoman for the Ohio Casino Control Commission. “So, for example, if the pot was $50, the rake would be $5. If the pot was $100, the rake would be $6.”

The additional tables, which seat 10 players, will be operational by mid-February and give the casino a total of 114 table games.

“Poker brings in a lot of people to the casino,” Tenenbaum said. “They’ll play other games, they’ll have a meal, maybe they’ll stay for the entertainment.”

The removal of the slots will also open up valuable floor space and allow for an expansion of the o.h. bar, Tenenbaum said.

“There are times, on the weekends, when it’s really crowded,” he said. “By strategically moving out some of the slots, it creates additional floor space.”